Endure
by Kyuubi no Kitsune0101
Summary: She had to bring him back because if no one else could do it, Ino was sure she could. She endured. She survived. It was her turn to be nice to him instead of the other way around. For a simple orange and black jacket. Prequel to Innocent. Slight NaruIno.


**Prequel to Innocent. I can't believe I'm writing this all because I reread Innocent and the reviews!**

Ino could only remember being numb. She was a failure to her family and endured the insults from her grandfather and cousins. She listened to her parents argue over the family's actions. She prayed that her eighteenth birthday came soon because that was the day she planned to move out and never show up again at any Yamanaka clan meetings. For now, she endures.

She hated herself for always finding her way to the graveyard whenever she doesn't want to go there. She would sit in front of Asuma's grave and tell him all her hardships. _Just like old times._ Ino never saw another soul in the graveyard, but there were always people coming or going whenever she left or came. Shikamaru was always spending time with Kurenai because of Aki, Asuma's beautiful baby boy. Shikamaru was filling the father spot for the boy. Ino felt hurt because she wished she could do something. No matter what the weather is Ino is at Asuma's grave everyday for about an hour.

"Ino?" a voice asked. Ino jumped and spun around to look at Uzumaki Naruto. He's different since the take down of Pein. The rest of Akatsuki are still at large, but he doesn't really care. "You should wear a jacket or something." The rain is starting to pour, but Ino can't find it in her to _care_. "Here." Naruto shrugged out of his own orange and black jacket and handed it to Ino. "Return it to me tomorrow. Don't worry. I don't get sick!" Naruto smiled at her, but it's different from the one she's sees around Konoha. More calm and less forced. She smiled back at him and thanked him. He proceeded over to one of his fallen loved one's grave and that was the end of their conversation.

The orange and black jacket never went back into Naruto's possession. It was hung on the back of one of Ino's kitchen chairs, a gift from her grandfather just like her apartment (to give her space and freedom to advance). The same chair she sat in to think about Naruto's sudden disappearance. They weren't calling him a traitor because of Akatsuki still being out despite Naruto killing Pein. She wore the jacket a little more often than not when around the apartment. His scent filled her senses, and she remembered every mission and every greeting. He was never mean. He was dense and not all that bright. He was kind. She cried when his disappearance date reached six months. It hurt to know that he probably wasn't coming back. She didn't know why either.

"Ino! Ino!" Shikamaru shouted and pounded on the apartment door. A groggy, tear-stained Ino opened the door with a yawn. Shikamaru isn't smiling, but Ino can tell he's partly happy. "Naruto came home." The tone he used wasn't happiness. It wasn't even close. It was something like pity, sadness, and anger rolled into one. "He was carrying Sasuke's body, Ino. Sasuke is dead, and Naruto has been arrested for suspected murder. Tsunade isn't happy, but she had to take action." Sasuke was a Konoha shinobi again since the fall of Pein. Ino is numb. She slammed the door on Shikamaru's face and sat against it. Naruto would die. He would be convicted even if he was innocent because the council hated him.

A year later, Shikamaru and Ino were walking passed all the prison cells. Ino is colder than she was the night she slammed that door. She was waiting for this day. Yamanaka clan members were perfect to investigations and interrogations, and none of them to date have been as cruel as Ino. She seduces the victim sometimes or drives them mad with mind games. The mind was Ino's playground. She saw some of the cruelest minds and brushed them away. Behind the last door in the hall is Ino's worst nightmare.

"Are you ready?" Shikamaru asked. He was only there for backup in case the prisoner became violent. "This _is_ Naruto. He might be different." Ino smiled at her teammate and gave him a look that made Shikamaru worry. What was going on in her head? She knew about everyone else's, but no one knew hers. Where was that fair? He scowled and pushed those thought out of his head. He's afraid of losing her above everything else.

"Shikamaru, I've been waiting for this for a long time. Let's get it over with and prove me right," Ino said. She never doubted Naruto. He was forever innocent, and she wanted to free him in the name of an orange and black jacket resting on the back of a kitchen chair in her apartment. She had to bring him back because if no one else could do it, Ino was sure she could. Because she endured.

**Wow. That wasn't like how I thought it would be. Tell me what you think!**

**NOTE: If you are looking for more to this story, I'm sorry to tell you that this is a one-shot background story to another story of mine called Innocent. Looking for more? Go read Innocent.**


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